The present invention relates to therapeutic and prophylactic devices for the alleviation of deep venous thrombosis by mechanical as opposed to chemical means. Deep venous thrombosis (DVT) is a condition in which clotting of venous blood occurs generally in the lower extremities due to lack of sufficient muscular activity in the lower extremities. Thus it is important that the velocity of blood flow in the patient's extremities be maintained at the requisite level in order to prevent pooling of blood in such extremities so that stasis of blood will not develop. This is particularly important since it is well known that stasis of blood is a significant cause leading to the formation of thrombi in the patient's extremities which could ultimately cause the death of the patient.
Devices are presently in use for the purpose of increasing blood velocity to prevent problems set forth above. Many of these devices comprise compression sleeves which fit over and around the limb requiring care. Fluid pressure producing means are provided for sequentially inflating the compression sleeve and allowing for a simultaneous deflation of all sleeve components.
Applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 4,453,538 which is entitled "Medical Apparatus" and issued on June 12, 1984, is hereby and herewith incorporated for all of its disclosure into this application. Among other features this patent describes a flexible pad formed for external enwrappment about a patient's limb. The pad includes a plurality of relatively large individual fluid receiving cells adapted to receive and retain sufficient fluid to exert pressure upon the enwrapped limb for a specified period of time. More particularly, the cells are sequentially pressurized starting at the limb extremity and proceeding in the direction of the patient's heart. It is desirable that the sleeve compression pressure proceed smoothly and evenly along the patient's limb from the extremity heartward. Most pressure sleeves currently in use cannot do this. In fact most of them leave continuous pressure gaps between respective sleeve portions. Such is undesirable.
In view of the foregoing it is an object of this invention to provide a compression sleeve for a patient's limb which will provide a smooth pressure flow with no pressure gaps extending completely around the patient's limb.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a device for use in applying successive compressive pressures against a patient's limb to produce a smooth pumping action from the patient's limb extremity heartward.
It is a still further object of this invention to provide a sleeve for use in applying compressive pressures against a patient's limb wherein the sleeve comprises a plurality of laterally extending separate fluid pressure members arranged longitudinally along the sleeve from a lower portion of the encased limb to the upper portion thereof with the adjacent lateral edge portions of adjacent pressure members being curved upwardly and then downwardly in unison whereby the respective contiguous edges thereof follow each other so that when pressure is sequentially applied from the lowermost pressure members upward there will never be a continuous circumferential pressure gap on any lateral circular portion of the encased limb.
Another object of this invention is to provide a device of the type described in the proceeding object and further wherein the successive pressurization of each pressure member from the lowermost heartward produces a plurality of circumferential spaced radially inward maximum and minimum forces interdigitated with successive pressure members having similar maximum and minimum forces to produce a smooth gap free pressurization from start to finish.
It is a still further object to provide a device as set forth in the foregoing objects which is comfortable for the patient, easily applied to the patient and very simple to produce.
The foregoing and additional objects and advantages of this invention will become more apparent when taken in conjunction with the following detailed description and drawings showing by way of example a preferred embodiment of this invention.